snake in the grass [open for RC]

After this kit was gone, there was only one more that she needed to get rid of. That thought propelled the rogue's legs forward, paws thundering against the ground as they carried her and the she-kit in her mouth towards RiverClan's territory. The border wasn't hard to find, especially with Leaf-fall slowly but surely bringing the river back to life. Her eye was wide and wary as she followed the scent markers, as usual looking for the most stale one. Her brow knitted in momentary confusion as she caught the scent of SkyClan here, too. She hadn't been back to see if the tree-loving cats were still in Twolegplace - the kits had kept her busy enough not to bother, and now she regretted that. Had they joined RiverClan in the wake of their own territory's destruction? Rainstrike tilted her head, deliberating. If that was the case, it was sure to be interesting.

It didn't take her long to find a decent place to leave the kit: a thick clump of reeds right near the border. With any luck, a patrol would be by shortly, and would stumble upon the she-kit. Rainstrike flattened a section of the reeds and sat the kit down gently, taking a step back. Her paw crunched on something unusual, and the former ThunderClanner glanced down, pricking the thing with a claw and raising it to her face. It was a snake skin, dried and withered by the sun. Rainstrike smirked. How fitting - she'd grown to calling this kit Snake, for her feisty attitude even in infancy. Carefully, she dragged the snake skin over, letting it drop down on top of the squirming kit. The scent would be enough to keep curious rodents away.

Bowing the rest of the reeds over top of the squirming gray she-kit to keep the sun off her, Rainstrike turned and left.

To say that the little she-kit was not happy would be an understatement. The warmth and comfort she had grown accustomed to in her short existence had just vanished, as if she never had it in the first place. Her mother and siblings were no longer by her side and the world around her had sights and smells so foreign that she was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. Her senses weren't fully developed and this new environment overwhelmed her. She was...alone. It rekindled the spark of fear that had stirred up deep within her belly as she was carried away by her mother, away from the warmth and safety and into the unforgiving unknown.

The feisty kitten squirmed around in an attempt to shove off whatever had been placed on top of her. It was rough and uncomfortable and she didn't like it. Her tiny claws scraped at the ground and her small tail lashed in irritation. She was fed up. She wanted her mother back. She wanted to feel the press of her siblings on either side of her. It was all that she had known. Another thing that wasn't helping was the pang of hunger that she was starting to feel. Before long, pitiful mews were ringing out from where she hid. She wanted attention and wanted it now! The fussy she-kit wasn't going to stop her cries until her demands were heard and she felt safe once more.

Wisteriabloom was trekking through RiverClan territory, a little tired after a long day of trains with Lilypaw. She scented a mouse somewhere nearby and dropped into a hunting crouch. She neared it on light paws, preparing to pounce. However, another scent caught her attention. It was a horrid stench that almost made her eyes sting. But it was something that needed to be dealt with: it might be a threat to her clan. Upon further investigation, she discovered a dried and shrivelled-up snakeskin hides in a clump of reeds. Something underneath it wriggled. The warrior cautiously poked it with a forepaw. What she found shocked her. It was a tiny kit. A little golden kit that couldn’t have been very old, but she was making an angry squeaking noise. 

“Hello little one,” she said gently, “you must be hungry, right?” She gently leant down and lifted the little she-kit away from the snakeskin. Snakeskin. Snake. “How about Snakekit for your name? You certainly seem to fit it.” Even though she knew that the kit didn’t under stand her, she still talked to her. Where’s her mother? Who would abandon their kits? Just like Cerberus and his brother, she thought, is it normal for rouges to just leave their kits. Luckily, the kit didn’t carry the scent of any other clan, so Wisteriabloom decided it would be alright to take the kit - there was no mother to be seen, and the kit would starve without help. “I’m gonna take you to RiverClan, ok? You’ll be safe there.”